How to Celebrate (and Make the Most of) The Summer Solstice
Ancient civilizations were keenly attuned to celestial events. They had to be. Agricultural or hunter-gatherer in nature, these people relied on their ancestors’ knowledge of the predictable changes that seasons bring to the land. Each season compelled precise “marching orders” that needed to be completed to help ensure their survival!
Among the longest-observed and celebrated astronomical anomalies were two solstices (two dates during the year when the sun appears to stand still) and two equinoxes (“equal-night” events).
Today, we call these four days the first day of summer, autumn/fall, winter, and spring) and today’s farmers and subsistence hunters and gatherers continue to regard them as crucial dates because nature’s relationship with the sun changes ever-so-slightly (but crucially) during these times.
Those who live in rural and suburban areas can easily witness the changes that the four seasons bring, especially if we live in the northern part of the northern hemisphere: Seattle, Boise, Kalispell, the Great Lakes region, and the like.
In the spring, buds erupt from the ground, leaves erupt from branches, and robins return to pull juicy earthworms from newly warmed soils. Before too long, baby rabbits, birds, mice, rats, moles, and shrews begin to make their appearances. The environment comes alive with vibrant colors, sounds and activities.
As spring progresses toward summer, plants begin to ripen and living beings begin to mature. The land and air get warmer and natural water sources become scarcer. Field irrigation becomes necessary.
By the time summer solstice rolls around, the sun is beating down on the planet as many as 16 hours a day in the northern hemisphere (as opposed to the scant eight hours or so that it receives during the winter solstice). Abundant fresh produce floods farmers markets. Life is good. In fact, life is great! “If only this could be the status quo year-‘round,” I’m sure many of our now-long-dead ancestors wished!
But they knew better. They knew that summer was the last gasp as far as abundance went. They knew they needed to continue preparing for the cold, barren, bleak winter months ahead; they couldn’t rely on international commerce, as we do, to deliver what they would be needing to sustain their lives during the exceedingly lean months that stood between them and mid-spring the following year.
So, it should come as no surprise to learn that they acknowledged, with enormous reverence, the value of Sol. Stonehenge and other solstice-specific monuments dot the globe, bearing mute testimony to the reverence our ancestors paid to their life-sustaining environment and to its chief benefactor and influence, the sun.
Ancient Greeks
In Greece, the people celebrated the agricultural god Cronus during the Summer Solstice. During this festival, the social policy was reversed and enslaved people were served by their masters or treated and addressed as absolute equals.
Ancient Romans
For days before the summer solstice, ancient Romans attended a festival honoring Vesta, goddess of the hearth. This was the sole annual opportunity for married women to enter the temple to submit offerings to the goddess in that sacred space.
Ancient Chinese
The ancient Chinese honored the earth, femininity, and yin during the summer solstice.
Other Ancient Cultures
In Northern and Central Europe Germanic, Slavic and Celtic tribes greeted summer by building immense bonfires. The tradition continues to this day in several countries.
Vikings
Nordic mariners met to discuss legal matters and resolve disputes during the summer solstice. They also visited wells that they believed possessed healing powers and built bonfires around them.
Native Americans
Here in the Americas (North, Central and South) ancient Indigenous tribes took part in centuries-old midsummer rituals, some of which their ancestors continue to this day. Some scholars believe that Wyoming’s Bighorn medicine wheel aligns with the summer solstice sunrise and sunset and served as the site of their annual sun dance.
Maya and Aztecs
Although not a lot is settled about the ways ancient Central Americans celebrated midsummer, the impressive ruins they left behind point to the significance of the summer solstice to them. Many of the temples, public buildings, and other structures that remain today are precisely aligned with the shadows cast by summer and winter solstices.
Druids
Celtic high priests (today called Druids) very likely led ritual celebrations during midsummer, but it’s unlikely they took place at England’s famous Stonehenge site. This conjecture hasn’t kept modern Druids from gathering at the monument during the summer and winter solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes, though.
Solstice Facts
The term solstice comes from two Latin words, “Sol” (sun) and “Sistere“ (“to stand still”). During both annual solstices, ancient astronomers noted that only during two widely separated days each year (in June and December) did the sun appear to be stationary in the sky.
A solstice marks one of the two times each year when the sun is farthest away from the equator.
This year in the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice will take place on Wednesday, June 21st at exactly 10:58am Eastern Time / 7:58am Pacific Time.
Summer and winter solstices happen at precise times; they are not day-long events, although these moments have been celebrated throughout the same day for thousands of years.
This year’s winter solstice in the northern hemisphere will occur at exactly 7:27p.m. Pacific Time/10:27PM Eastern Time on Thursday, December 21.
Here are ways to celebrate the Summer Solstice Where You Live
In addition to bonfires, fairs and festivals, some people use the occasion to restart their lives, let go of what no longer serves them, and/or open up to meaningful change. Following are examples.
If you’re into yoga, start the day with a sun salutation to calm and center yourself.
Set new goals/intentions. Cast off whatever no longer serves you so you can open space in your life to laser focus on new goals and intentions. Perhaps start with what’s in your closet and/or bonus room, even if your goals aren’t physical items. Doing so will reset your mind to realize that you’re completely capable of creating the life you want.
Create a summer bucket list. Make concrete arrangements to do whatever you feel you must do to feed your spirit before summer’s expiration date.
Make A Flower Crown: In a folk tale from Finland, a young woman collected seven flowers under her pillow on Midsummer night (aka the Summer Solstice) and lo and behold, her future fiancé appeared in her dreams! Whether you’re looking for a mate or just for some creative fun, making a flower crown is a delightful idea!
Start A Summer Garden (Or Add To Your Existing One) But only if you love gardening. Many people feel renewed and/or meditative when working the soil.
Throw a Summer Solstice Party. Get outside with great friends or family members. Build a bonfire, sing songs, play instruments or your favorite music, and eat your favorite foods.
If you can’t be at Stonehenge, watch the livestream to witness the sunrise through the center stone during this year’s summer solstice.
If you’re in the far north (Alaska or Iceland), play a midnight sport (baseball in Alaska, golf in Iceland).
Take a hike. Climb with a friend to an alpine meadow, waterfall, or some other natural wonder.
Play some lawn games. Lawn darts, bocce ball, horseshoes and other lawn games are great fun.
Stargaze. Get outside of big cities and into sparsely populated areas to rediscover a night sky filled with an uncountable number of stars.
Go berry picking. Harvesting wild, edible berries is a favorite pastime of a lot of outdoorsy types.
Catch the wave! Go surfing (board, body, or wind) or waterskiing. It’s exhilarating. (Remember the sunscreen!)
Go camping. Whether you employ a tent or a camper, camping is where it’s at for those who want to surround themselves with nature.
Take an evening swim. If you can swing it, swim naked in the dark with a romantic partner. Love is in the air!
For many reasons that are now clear, the Summer Solstice has been an all-important day throughout history. It is also a day of equilibrium and powerful celestial energy. It’s an ideal to pause and think about where you have come in life, and where you want to go. And if you feel as though you have much to accomplish, like you are ready to step into the person you were put on this Earth to be, then you should consider our year-long Master-in-Training program. It’s our most intimate, powerful, and exclusive program. A program that drives the time of life transformational in a year that most people couldn’t imagine in a decade. And the doors for registration are now open.
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